


unexpected

by lostin_space



Series: Alex Manes Week 2020❤️️ [6]
Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alex Manes Week 2020, Conversations, M/M, Morning Kisses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:20:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24964399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostin_space/pseuds/lostin_space
Summary: Alex tastes acetone on someone unexpected.
Relationships: Forrest Long/Alex Manes
Series: Alex Manes Week 2020❤️️ [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1798477
Comments: 13
Kudos: 84





	unexpected

**Author's Note:**

> _**prompt from** @5footeven **:** Has anyone sent you 28 for the sensory prompts?_
> 
> _28\. The bitter tang of acetone_
> 
> **  
> [sensory prompts](https://spaceskam.tumblr.com/post/620636539959001088/64-sensory-prompts)  
>  **
> 
> also for day 7 of @alexmanesappreciation!

Alex had become familiar with the taste of acetone over the years.

Of course, he hadn’t ever really noticed that’s what it was until he put the whole alien thing together. For the most part, when he kissed Michael and he tasted like acetone, Alex had assumed he was doing something stupid like drinking rubbing alcohol to get drunk. But his lips felt nice and he always seemed coherent and Alex was desperate for his attention, so he never really questioned it.

However, once things between them seemed to stall out while Alex tried to find something else, he hadn’t tasted it. It’d been months and so, when he _did_ taste it again, it was unmistakable. There was no way he could misidentify it, no way he was wrong.

Alex broke the kiss, pulling away from Forrest with confused eyes.

Forrest still seemed like he was half-asleep from where he was in Alex’s bed. They’d spent the night together for the first time. The whole night before, every step of the way, Forrest hadn’t tasted like that. What happened while Alex was asleep? What does this mean? What was he?

“My morning breath that bad, Captain?” Forrest asked sleepily. It was sweet and Alex considered just ignoring what he knew he tasted. But he couldn’t.

Just in case, though, Alex went in for another kiss. Maybe he made it up, maybe his sleep-ridden mind had confused who he was in bed with. And yet, as Alex pretty deliberately slid his tongue into Forrest’s mouth, it was exactly what he’d thought. The beautifully bitter taste of acetone. The taste had unintentionally become something of an aphrodisiac to Alex when the right man was involved. He knew he wasn’t wrong.

“Why do you taste like that?” Alex asked bluntly as he sat up. Forrest’s eyebrows furrowed, clearly trying to feign confusion. Alex just waited for an answer. He sat up.

“Taste like what? Do you want me to go brush my teeth?” Forrest asked.

“That isn’t morning breath and you know it,” Alex said.

“You’re acting weird.”

“And you either drank poison or an alien painkiller, so which is it?”

Forrest’s facade slowly but surely slipped away. He sat up with a sigh. Alex tried not to panic. This was fine. Right?

“So you know,” Forrest said casually. Alex raised an eyebrow. “Wait, why do you know what that tastes like?”

“That doesn’t matter,” Alex said, eyeing him as he tried to piece things together. So Forrest was... Did Alex only attract aliens or something? What the fuck? “How are you... I don’t understand, you’re a Long. You weren’t adopted or anything.”

“No, I wasn’t,” Forrest said, licking his lips, “How do you know? About, well, everything?”

Alex stared at him and Forrest stared back. They both had information they didn’t want to share, both closely held family secrets apparently. It was strange trying to figure out _how_ to share this. Alex wanted to call Michael and Isobel, get them to come over and help have this conversation.

But the fact was they didn’t really factor into this situation, did they? This wasn’t about them. This was about a different alien altogether.

“Let’s trade one fact at a time,” Alex suggested. It made it easier, that way neither of them shared more than was okay. “I’ll go first. I know because my family has probably the most comprehensive amount of information on aliens on the planet.”

“That’s comforting,” Forrest said sarcastically. Alex tried to offer a smile. “My mom is an alien, my dad is human. I’m somewhere in the middle.”

“Oh, okay,” Alex said. So maybe he could get him to talk to Maria.

They shared information back and forth. Alex admitted he knew other aliens, Forrest explained how he’d gotten so good at hiding it, and so on. By the end of the conversation, Alex was texting the group chat that he had something important to tell them and they needed to have a meeting later that afternoon.

“So, you aren’t all creeped out by me or anything, right?” Forrest clarified once he put his phone down. Alex shook his head.

“No,” he promised, “And you’re not scared of me because of my family, right?”

“No. I know you, you’re amazing,” Forrest said, flashing a smile because of course he did. 

Alex licked his lips and tried to figure out what to do next. He was stuck somewhere in the middle of having so much adrenaline from the information he’d gotten to being so exhausted from having such a heavy conversation first thing in the morning. 

“I do have one question though,” Alex said cautiously, “Why did you drink acetone while you were here? Did you get hurt or something?”

“No, it helps me sleep,” Forrest admitted with a shrug, “And even since I was a kid, I’d wake up with killer headaches. If I have a little acetone before bed, it nips that in the bud. I was trying not to wake up in too much pain to kiss you.”

“I bet there’s a reason for those headaches,” Alex said, already leaning closer again. He was glad they hadn’t taken any steps backward because of this. Forrest’s eyes went to his lips and then back up again.

“Maybe. Gonna have your friends do experiments on me?”

Alex rolled his eyes, his hand moving up to his neck as he shook his head.

“The only one doing any experimenting on you is gonna be me.”

Forrest smiled and shifted even closer, his eyebrows raising through his intrigue. Alex went ahead and closed the space between them again and Forrest pulled him to lay back in the bed. This time, the acetone wasn’t as offputting.

In fact, those acetone flavored kisses were just as sweet as he remembered.

**Author's Note:**

> also on my tumblr: spaceskam


End file.
